The invention relates to an improved method of manufacturing bacon products.
The popularity of bacon continues to increase because of the favorable Flavor that bacon adds to a diverse range of foods. Accordingly, restaurant use of bacon has grown substantially as consumer demand for a bacon flavor in food items has increased. However, cooking bacon by frying is a somewhat tedious and untidy process that produces odoriferous fumes and grease spattering, and often results in more waste fat than edible bacon. The introduction of xe2x80x9cprefriedxe2x80x9d bacon in the mid-1980s addressed this problem, and has become a necessary commodity in many restaurants trying to satisfy consumer demand. In the manufacture of prefried bacon, a bacon product is prepared by the steps of brine injection and smokehouse processing. The bacon belly then is sliced, and the slices are fried in continuous fry ovens. Thereafter, the fried bacon strips are packaged and frozen for shipment.
Traditional bacon manufacturing therefore is a multistep, time consuming process involving the process of either dry curing or wet curing a bacon belly. In a dry curing process, meat curing additives, such as curing salts, nitrites, and other conventional curing additives are applied in the dry state directly to the surface of the meat. A disadvantage of the dry curing process is that it is difficult to distribute a dry curing composition evenly onto the bacon bellies. Accordingly, most bacon products are made by methods employing a wet curing process. In a wet curing process, a brine solution containing various additives is injected at various locations into the bacon bellies through tubular needles to provide a more rapid cure and a more even distribution of the additive-containing brine solution. The wet curing process, like the dry curing process, has the disadvantage of being time consuming, and additives are necessary to provide a desirable cure. An additional major disadvantage of the wet curing process is that the finished bacon products typically display dark-colored marks caused by the brine injection needles.
Brine solutions used to cure bacon products typically include sodium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium nitrite, sodium ascorbate, a phosphate, corn syrup, and a sugar. An agent for imparting a smoke flavoring to the finished bacon product (e.g., a liquid smoke composition) also can be present in the brine solution. Sodium ascorbate is present in the brine solution to accelerate the cure and prevent undesirable oxidation. A phosphate is present to increase the uptake of brine into the bacon bellies. Sugar is present in the brine solution to impart a sweet taste to the finished bacon product. Sodium nitrite improves the quality and taste of the bacon product, and inhibits the growth of deadly Clostridium species during storage of the bacon product prior to consumption. It is known, however, that a chemical reaction occurs between certain types of amines naturally present in the bacon bellies and the sodium nitrite added to the bacon bellies when the bacon product is cooked (i.e., heated). This chemical reaction yields carcinogenic N-nitrosamines. Successful prior art methods of suppressing the formation of carcinogenic N-nitrosamines in bacon products include the use of the d-isomer of xcex1-tocopherol (i.e., Vitamin E) as an additive in the brine solution.
In the wet curing process of manufacturing bacon, it is important that a proper amount of brine solution is evenly distributed throughout the bacon belly. If too much brine solution is injected, the resulting bacon product has an excessively salty taste and/or has a localized nitrite level in excess of desirable, or regulated, amounts. If too little brine solution is injected, then the resulting bacon product has an undesirably bland and/or otherwise unacceptable taste. Additionally, the amount of injected brine contributes to the texture and color of the finished bacon product. Accordingly, a uniform injection of the brine solution helps ensure that the finished bacon product displays a consistent texture and color.
Following injection of the brine solution, the pumped bellies are hung for several minutes prior to weighing, then transferred to a smokehouse. The bellies are hung in smokehouses for several hours (typically about 4 to about 7 hours), and processed to an internal temperature of about 50xc2x0 C. (122xc2x0 F.) to about 55xc2x0 C. (131xc2x0 F.). At this temperature, the injected bacon bellies remain preserved due to the presence of the sodium nitrite, and are free of trichina. Several hours of smokehouse time at this temperature are required to process the bacon bellies without melting fat, to return the bacon bellies to their original green weight (i.e., the weight of a bacon belly prior to the brine solution injection step), and to impart a smoked flavor to the finished bacon product. Additional dark-colored markings however can appear on the finished bacon product due to stress cracks formed by hanging the pumped bellies. After the smokehouse processing step, the bacon product is sliced, packaged, and frozen for shipment.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a method of manufacturing a bacon product that requires fewer process steps than the processes described above and others that are known in the art. Furthermore, it would be desirable to eliminate the presence of dark-colored marks on the finished bacon product caused by needles or stress cracks. Still further, it would be desirable to provide a method of manufacturing a bacon product by a less expensive process. For example, it would be desirable to provide a faster method of preparing a bacon product and to eliminate, or reduce the amount of, one or more components of the brine solution without compromising the quality, taste, and safety of the finished bacon product.
The present invention is directed to a method of making a bacon product from a frozen bacon belly, wherein the method includes the steps of cutting the frozen bacon belly to slices of predetermined dimensions, and coating the bacon slices with a brine solution, such that each bacon slice has a brine uptake of about 8 percent by weight (wt. %) to about 15 wt. %, based on the weight of the frozen bacon belly, and has a sodium nitrite content of about 18 parts per million (ppm) up to about 80 ppm. The method also includes the further step of heating the brine-soaked bacon slices to form a bacon product.
A suitable brine solution for use in accordance with the invention is an aqueous solution containing a salt (e.g., potassium chloride or sodium chloride), a low amount of sodium nitrite, and, optionally, a phosphate. More specifically, a suitable aqueous brine solution for use in accordance with the present invention includes about 10 wt. % to about 20 wt. % of sodium chloride based on the total weight of the brine solution, about 0.015 wt. % to about 0.045 wt. % of sodium nitrite, based on the total weight of the brine solution, and, 0 wt. % to about 1 wt. % of a phosphate based on the total weight of the brine solution. Alternatively, sodium nitrate can be used as a substitute, either wholly or in part, for the sodium nitrite. The brine solution optionally can include one or more materials selected from the group consisting of sugar, sodium ascorbate, and an agent for imparting a smoke flavor to the bacon product, such as a liquid smoke composition. Typically, the aqueous brine solution includes about 70 wt. % to about 90 wt. % water, based on the total weight of the brine solution.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the examples and the appended claims.